This blog is for government communicators and others who are passionate about improving the way government serves citizens. I managed a U.S. government website for 10 years. Now happily retired, I'm sharing some of my experiences and ideas. Agree or not, I hope my posts make you think about ways to make government customer service better.

Monday, November 05, 2012

Plain language is critical to great customer service.You may think that “plain language” is all
about getting the words right.Well,
words are a big part of it.But there’s
more to it than that.“Plain” means information you can find, understand, and
use quickly and easily.So, in
addition to choosing the right words, how the information is organized and
presented is critical to making content “plain.”For the past 3 years, I’ve served as a website
judge for the U.S. Clearmark Plain Language Awards and New Zealand’s WritemarkPlain Writing Awards.Here are the
factors we discuss when we assess nominations and websites:1.Purpose
– Is the purpose of the site clear on the home page so visitors know quickly
whether or not this site is for them?Is
the purpose of each page you review clear, without relying on the reader having
visited other pages on the site?Based
on the pages you review, does the site stay focused on its purpose (doesn’t
stray into tangents, get off subject)?2.Organization
– Is content organized in categories that would make sense to typical
customers?Is navigation obvious?Is navigation consistent from page to
page?Are the words used for navigation
clear and unambiguous so the readers know exactly what they will find?Are navigation categories organized in
logical sequences, helping the customer know where to begin and what to do
next?Is content layered appropriately
so customers can find what they want quickly?Does content anticipate audience wants and needs?Can customers find top tasks from the home
page?3.Writing –
Are sentences and paragraphs short and to the point?Are they written conversationally, using
“you,” “we,” and “us” and avoiding impersonal third person narrative?Do they use active verbs?Do they use words that the typical audience
will know and understand the first time they read them?Has the writing been edited to avoid
redundancy and extraneous information that isn’t essential to make the points?Does the site avoid jargon?Does the site spell out acronyms on every
page they appear?Are words spelled
correctly? 4.Design
– Is the site designed to make skimming easy?Is the most important information placed where readers look first (the
“F”)?Does the site use headers and
sub-headers, bullets and numbers, color to highlight important information, and
other design devices to make skimming easy?Are pages relatively short?Are
fonts consistent, and are they easy to see on a computer? Is there ample use of
white space?5.Graphics
and links – Do graphics add value to the site by adding or clarifying
important information – no gratuitous graphics?Are graphics designed and placed to support the content and not distract
the reader (no “eye-stoppers”)?Do links
add value to the content?Are links
labeled or described so readers know what they will find? 6.Accessibility
– Does the site use best practices to help people who are visually impaired
(for example, dark fonts on light backgrounds, links describe target
content)?Does the site use best practices
to help people who are hearing impaired (videos and audio files have
captions)?Does the site use best
practices to make the site accessible to people with slow internet connections –
this is especially important for government websites that should be accessible
to all citizens (text alternative to large graphics, readers are warned about
download time when linking to graphic files, home page and top navigation pages
limit graphic load?7.Performance
measures – Has the organization done usability testing?Is the organization tracking measures to make
sure customers can find and use what they want as fast and effectively as
possible?8.Overall
assessment – Is this site easy to use?Would this site be a good example for others who want to make their
sites easier to understand and use?So, give it a shot.Score your website using a scale of 1-5 (5 is practically perfect, 3 is
average, 1 has a lot of problems and needs an overhaul) on each factor.How did you fare?Would you be a winner?If so,
watch for the announcements for the 2013 Clearmark Awards and 2013 Writemark
Awards and nominate your site. If not, get to work.For great customer service, keep it plain!